Richmond first NGO to win seal of quality

Richmond Foundation became the first local NGO to receive the quality assurance certificate ISO 9001 in what was described by its CEO as a “milestone” for the mental health organisation.

“This award, usually given to business companies, shows our service is of a high standard,” foundation CEO Dolores Gauci said after the presentation at the Richmond headquarters.

This is the second time the foundation was breaking new ground, Ms Gauci said, pointing out that the first milestone it successfully achieved was the setting up of community health services for mental health clients.

“This is not the end of the road,” Ms Gauci said, adding that the foundation had to continue working to deliver effective, efficient and best quality services to its clients.

Presenting the certificate, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said praised the work carried out by the foundation and said it was not easy for an organisation like Richmond, which depended heavily on voluntary work, to achieve such high standards of quality.

The foundation, which caters for 1,031 mental health clients, employs some 40 full-time or part-time persons and relies on another 40 voluntary workers.

“As an NGO, the foundation was under no pressure to implement a quality management system and to ask to be certified on the same system,” said Dr Said.

In spite of this, he said, the foundation felt it had advanced enough as an NGO to ask for this quality assurance certificate.

The ISO 9001 will help the foundation offer services of the same quality standards and consistency, reduce duplication of work and further improve on the services provided.

The foundation was set up in 1993 and is a registered NGO. Its work is carried out from many centres, including the central office in Sta Venera, Villa Chelsea in Birkirkara, the Floriana Hostel, the KIDs programme in Żejtun and the centre for technology and research in Sta Venera.